Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Historical Note

The L. E. Blain Clothing company of Albany, Oregon, moved into the east half of the First National Bank building in 1892, and was open for business until 1976. "Blain’s was a popular downtown gathering spot for the gentlemen of the town. Mr. L. E. Blain kept chairs in the front of the store for his daily visitors. A daily morning ritual was to sweep the sidewalk and exchange gossip and news with the other business people on the street. At the time of its closure in 1926 Blain’s was the oldest continuously operating clothing store West of the Mississippi."

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use :

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Archival material may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws and other regulations.

Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g. a cause of action for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Oregon assumes no responsibility.

If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Restrictions on Access :

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Material within this collection may have little to no intellectual or physical arrangement. Any arrangement may have derived from the records' creators or custodians. It may be necessary to look in multiple places for the same types of materials.

Processing Note :

Collection processed by staff.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal to no organization and rehousing.

Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents.